Feature image: October 2002. Au Petit Tonneau, 20, rue Surcouf, Paris (7th arrondissement). Author’s photograph.
We could use more of these in the US but like many things on the American landscape, particularly in urban/suburbia, we eat big to “make a fatter profit.” A butcher opened the first Bouillon in 1854 and by 1900 there were over 250 of these types of eateries in Paris that served good and cheap meals to the populace. They fell out of favor during World War I when nearly nine million young boys and men and others who would be eating in Bouillons were mobilized to the front – – but in 2026 they are making a comeback. When I ate in Paris i found cafe meals were similarly reasonable. This short includes: Comme un Bouillon 17 Rue de Choiseul, 75002 Paris, France. La Cantine Diderot 74 Bd Diderot, 75012 Paris, France. Le Vaudésir 41 Rue Dareau, 75014 Paris, France.
